Jillian Martin reads an article about felons having voting rights during a meeting of Students Against Marginalizing People, also known as S.T.A.M.P, at Maury High School in Norfolk, Va., on Wednesday, December 12, 2018. After reading the article the group had a discussion about their thoughts on the topic.

Jillian Martin reads an article about felons having voting rights during a meeting of Students Against Marginalizing People, also known as S.T.A.M.P, at Maury High School in Norfolk, Va., on Wednesday, December 12, 2018. After reading the article the group had a discussion about their thoughts on the topic.

NORFOLK

Jillian Martin and Waehung Ng stood at the front of Ms. Mitchell's science classroom leaning over the counter.

Martin, 16, tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear and projected a Washington Post column onto the front wall of the classroom. It was about whether felons should get their voting rights back.

After reading the story aloud, she scanned the dozen students gathered to discuss.

"I really appreciate how everyone is accepting everyone else’s ideas, because they are different," Martin said. "We all agree on one thing, which is voting is a basic human right."

But from there, opinions differed. While some said it would depend on the crime, others said they thought that even while imprisoned, felons should be allowed to vote.

"They still have a future, whether they are imprisoned or not," one student said. "They should still get a say in how their future is handled."

They agreed to disagree.

The belief that any opinion supported by research is welcome is the crux of a new club at Maury High School called STAMP: Students Together Against Marginalizing People.

Martin and Ng started it "to try to include everyone" in discussions that run the gamut, from politics to criminal justice to religion.

“I'm not trying to bend your opinion, I’m just trying to make you think about the other side," Martin said to the group.

Martin and Ng previously attended the Governor's School for Humanities at Radford University, a summer program where 200 high schoolers study journalism, politics and philosophy, and other subjects. Workshops covered LGBTQ awareness, religion and identity, among other topics.

"I really appreciated getting to be in an environment where discussion was fostered like that, so I wanted to bring that to Maury," Martin said.

They convinced one of their teachers, Donna Mitchell, to lend her classroom Wednesdays after school for meetings.

Some weeks are controversial, like "Halloween's origins and transformation into a Christian and modern holiday." Other times they're more informative, like celebrating Hanukkah. Future meetings are planned on reproductive rights and the stigma surrounding medicating mental illness.

The desire to create a space to talk doesn't surprise Narketta Sparkman-Key, a professor at Old Dominion University who has researched teen communities.

"They're having their own opinions, but no one is having a talk with the children," she said. "We're in the day and age where these children have so much access to the internet and if they don't discuss it, they can internalize it."

What's amazing about STAMP, she said, is that it provides students an outlet to be themselves, talk through their ideals, and not feel attacked.

Leah Richels, 17, said the club drew her in. She's Jewish and thinks a lot of things are different for her than everybody else.

Raelynn Goodnough, 16, said it's a way to bring students together.

"Maury's a really diverse place," she said. "There's a lot of different people coming here from all different backgrounds."

Not everyone will be on board, the students know. Some of their classmates think it's "a very liberal club," even though there is no single political focus.

"Why are you going to call us a 'snowflake club' if you haven't even come?" Martin wondered aloud.

Sparkman-Key, the professor, said that these conversations will encourage conversations at home.

"I think one of the first things adults can learn is that these students want to talk about all of these issues," she said. "As adults, we need to give them outlets."

Children pick up more than adults realize, she said. "What we say and what we don't say gives a message. Whether we talk about it with them, or don't talk about it with them."

Martin has simple goals for STAMP.

"My goal is really to just provoke more understanding, not just at Maury, but around the community. But I know that starts at Maury."

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Robyn Sidersky is on The Virginian-Pilot's digital enterprise team. She joined The Pilot in 2016 after writing for The Free Lance-Star and The Patriot-News. She's a UCF grad, a Floridian, and will travel anywhere for good craft beer and ice cream.

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robyn.sidersky@pilotonline.com

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